Excluded Middle

Description

Only extreme views are valid.

Moderation is weak and uncertain. To be valid, an argument must have a clear
opposite.

Ignore any central position. Polarize any issues and then select one end of
the spectrum. Criticise any middle position as floppy and compromising, which by
definition is only half of what could be had.

Example

Women who use Citro perfume will attract men. [Those who
do not, will not.]

If we do not save the whales, the world is doomed.

I have an absolute right to carry a gun. Those who oppose
that right deserve what they get.

Discussion

Where people have a high need for
certainty and
control, extreme views
provide what may seem to be a defensible position, as you only need to look in
one direction for the 'enemy'. Dividing the world into good and bad, right and
wrong also plays to certainty needs, as your friends and enemies can now be
clearly identified.